What is life insurance ?
Life insurance is a legally binding contract.
Life insurance is a contract between an insurer and a policyholder. A life insurance policy guarantees the insurer pays a sum of money to named beneficiaries when the insured policyholder dies, in exchange for the premiums paid by the policyholder during their lifetime.
KEY TAKE AWAYS
- For the contract to be enforceable, the life insurance application must accurately disclose the insured’s past and current health conditions and high-risk activities.
- For a life insurance policy to remain in force, the policyholder must pay a single premium up front or pay regular premiums over time.
- When the insured dies, the policy’s named beneficiaries will receive the policy’s face value, or death benefit.
- Term life insurance policies expire after a certain number of years. Permanent life insurance policies remain active until the insured dies, stops paying premiums, or surrenders the policy.
- A life insurance policy is only as good as the financial strength of the company that issues it. State guaranty funds may pay claims if the issuer can’t.
Who Should Buy Life Insurance ?
Life insurance provides financial support to surviving dependents or other beneficiaries after the death of an insured.
If a parent dies, the loss of their income or caregiving skills could create a financial hardship. Life insurance can make sure the kids will have the financial resources they need until they can support themselves.
For children who require lifelong care and will never be self-sufficient, life insurance can make sure their needs will be met after their parents pass away. The death benefit can be used to fund a special need that a fiduciary will manage for the adult child’s benefit.
If the death of a key employee, such as a CEO, would create a severe financial hardship for a firm, that firm may have an insurable interest that will allow it to purchase a life insurance policy on that employee.
The younger and healthier you are, the lower your insurance premiums. A 20-something adult might buy policy even without having dependents if there is an expectation to have them in the future.
Young adults without dependents rarely need life insurance, but if a parent will be on the hook for a child’s debt after their death, the child may want to carry enough life insurance to pay off that debt.
Married or not, if the death of one adult would mean that the other could no longer afford loan payments, upkeep, and taxes on the property, life insurance may be a good idea. An example would be an engaged couple who took out a joint mortgage to buy their first house.
Life insurance can provide funds to cover the taxes and keep the full value of the estate intact.
A small life insurance policy can provide funds to honor a loved one’s passing.
Instead of choosing between a pension payout that offers a spousal benefit and one that doesn’t, pensioners can choose to accept their full pension and use some of the money to buy life insurance to benefit their spouse. This strategy is called pension maximization.
Many adult children sacrifice by taking time off work to care for an elderly parent who needs help. This help may also include direct financial support. Life insurance can help reimburse the adult child’s costs when the parent passes away.
How Life Insurance Works
A life insurance policy has two main components—a death benefit and a premium.
- Death Benefit : - The death benefit or face value is the amount of money the insurance company guarantees to the beneficiaries identified in the policy when the insured dies. The insured might be a parent, and the beneficiaries might be their children, for example. The insured will choose the desired death benefit amount based on the beneficiaries’ estimated future needs. The insurance company will determine whether there is an insurable interest and if the proposed insured qualifies for the coverage based on the company’s underwriting requirements related to age, health, and any hazardous activities in which the proposed insured participates.
- Premium : - Premiums are the money the policyholder pays for insurance. The insurer must pay the death benefit when the insured dies if the policyholder pays the premiums as required, and premiums are determined in part by how likely it is that the insurer will have to pay the policy’s death benefit based on the insured’s life expectancy. Factors that influence life expectancy include the insured’s age, gender, medical history, occupational hazards, and high-risk hobbies.2 Part of the premium also goes toward the insurance company’s operating expenses. Premiums are higher on policies with larger death benefits, individuals who are higher risk, and permanent policies that accumulate cash value.
